“It’s very troubling, that such a venerable institution can find itself in this type of situation,” said Jeffrey Lowe, managing partner for the District office of recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa LLC. “It definitely makes lawyers at all firms question whether or not it could happen to them and their firms as well.”

Of course, financial or other troubles don’t truly come out of nowhere, but Lowe said too many lawyers dedicate themselves to their own cases, and don’t have a good eye on their firm’s business. As a result, it can take seemingly secure attorneys by surprise.

The Howrey developments — a steady drumbeat of partners leaving across multiple offices — mirrors the patterns set by other major firms that collapsed during the recession, such as Heller Ehrman LLP and Thacher Proffitt & Wood LLP, Lowe said.

“Almost as if a switch was thrown, things suddenly became very grave and ultimately those firms dissolved,” Lowe said, adding that it becomes self-sustaining in the reputation-based world of law firms.

So what's it mean for the rest of the D.C. legal world? Unclear. This article indicates that the D.C. office may have a greater number of lawyers accept the offer from Winston & Strawn, but two sources we've spoken to say the D.C. office isn't especially enamored with the deal.

Howrey's specialties include antitrust, global litigation and intellectual property. As of Friday, the firm lists 216 lawyers in its D.C. office. For now.

Related links:

Industries:

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.